Hi everyone. I have a 14 year old kitty named Lester who had surgery yesterday to remove one of his toes. He had a necrotic mass under the nail that wasn't responding to antibiotics, and the vet said they would try to surgically debride it but warned an amputation might be found to be necessary (it was). I'm waiting on biopsy results to see if it was a carcinoma. Last night was really rough and now I'm wondering if I did the right thing by putting him through this. I could have either done nothing, or euthanized.
He seemed in pain even with a moderate dose of buprenorphine, moaning softly and occasionally crying out loudly. He's always been very vocal, though. The combination of opiates, anesthesia grogginess, pain, big awkward bandage on his foot, and constricting cone made him stagger and collapse when he tried to walk. He is hungrily eating the wet cat food slurry I bring to his mouth, and he tried to use his litter box, but couldn't stay upright long enough to do his business. I'm babying him as much as I can but I naively didn't realize it would be this traumatic. I never wanted to resort to desperate measures to extend his life without regard for his actual well-being, but this seemed like a straightforward fix to a medical probloem. He is an old guy with chronic kidney problems and achy joints, but still likes to nap on the porch in the sun and chase toys (slowly). Was I foolish to do this to him? Also, any tips on helping him go to the bathroom, and eat with the cone?
He seemed in pain even with a moderate dose of buprenorphine, moaning softly and occasionally crying out loudly. He's always been very vocal, though. The combination of opiates, anesthesia grogginess, pain, big awkward bandage on his foot, and constricting cone made him stagger and collapse when he tried to walk. He is hungrily eating the wet cat food slurry I bring to his mouth, and he tried to use his litter box, but couldn't stay upright long enough to do his business. I'm babying him as much as I can but I naively didn't realize it would be this traumatic. I never wanted to resort to desperate measures to extend his life without regard for his actual well-being, but this seemed like a straightforward fix to a medical probloem. He is an old guy with chronic kidney problems and achy joints, but still likes to nap on the porch in the sun and chase toys (slowly). Was I foolish to do this to him? Also, any tips on helping him go to the bathroom, and eat with the cone?